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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bound — tied together
  6. net — in sport
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bound — certain
  10. file — a tool
  11. net — after costs
  12. bound — obliged
  13. season — of the year
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. file — a document
  19. spring — the season
  20. file — a line of people
  21. toast — bread
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. net — for catching
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com