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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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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 · spring · object · ground · march · pitcher · stick · fine

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — the season
  5. fine — high quality
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — a position
  10. fine — all right
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. object — to protest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. dip — to sink
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. spring — of water
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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