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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spring — of water
  3. dip — to sink
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — a city
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pop — soda
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — the season
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spring — a coil
  17. kick — in football
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cue — a signal
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. capital — money
  23. pop — music
  24. cue — a hint

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