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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: season · dip · spring · file · cue · ground · mug · hand

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — a cup
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — for pool
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. spring — the season
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a document
  9. ground — a position
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cue — a hint
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — of water
  15. mug — to rob
  16. hand — help
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. hand — in cards
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — a coil
  23. dip — to sink
  24. season — of the year

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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