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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. mug — a face
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — a cup
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mate — to breed
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. mug — to rob
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pass — a permit
  22. spring — the season
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cold — an illness

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