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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kick — in football
  3. spring — the season
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. band — a ring
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. scale — size or range
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. band — a music group
  21. shower — to wash
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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