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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bore — to drill
  3. dip — to sink
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. board — to get on
  7. spring — the season
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bore — to tire
  11. saw — the tool
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. board — a committee
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cell — in biology
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cell — a phone

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