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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · date · land · present · foot · spring · pit · rule

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. present — a gift
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. dip — to sink
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. spring — of water
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pit — a hole
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. land — to come down
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. land — a country
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rule — a law
  16. present — the time now
  17. spring — a coil
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. land — ground
  20. rule — government
  21. spring — the season
  22. foot — a measure
  23. present — there
  24. date — the fruit

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