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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. dip — to sink
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pound — a weight
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — farmland
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. field — a subject
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. hand — help
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. field — for sport
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. sharp — clever

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