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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
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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 · cold · spring · bay · wake · land · fan

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. spring — a coil
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — of water
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — to come down
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. spring — the season
  13. date — the fruit
  14. dip — to sink
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wake — a trail
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. cold — not warm

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