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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.

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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: hand · pit · bore · band · spring · staff · dip · swing

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. band — a music group
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. hand — help
  10. staff — a stick
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. staff — employees
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. bore — to drill
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pit — in a race
  22. band — a ring
  23. pit — a hole
  24. dip — a sauce

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