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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. rash — hasty
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rash — a series
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cap — a hat
  10. spring — a coil
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. spring — the season
  19. cap — of ice
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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