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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ground — a position
  4. club — for golf
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spring — a coil
  8. dip — to sink
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. spring — of water
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. ground — the earth
  17. spring — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — a group
  21. root — of a plant
  22. mine — for digging
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. fall — the season

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