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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: cold · track · spring · pop · spell · bore · cell · dip

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. track — a path
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — soda
  5. track — to keep track
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pop — music
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. cell — a phone
  19. spring — the season
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spring — of water
  23. bore — to tire
  24. track — a song

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