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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 120 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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cue — a hint
  3. game — a match
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cue — a signal
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. root — of a word
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. root — the cause
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cue — for pool
  21. stock — goods
  22. game — wild animals
  23. root — of a plant
  24. dip — to sink

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