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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · mine · lie · cell · dip · game · coach · spell

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cell — a phone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. dip — to sink
  15. spell — letters
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pound — a weight
  21. game — a match
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. spell — magic
  24. cell — in biology

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