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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bore — to drill
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bore — to tire
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. current — electric
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. saw — the tool
  11. current — happening now
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. game — wild animals
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — to sink
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. mine — for digging
  18. game — a match
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. current — of water
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bore — gave birth

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