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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: shower · spring · dip · cold · arm · spell · ground · board

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  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 sink
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. board — a committee
  4. spring — the season
  5. ground — crushed
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ground — the earth
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ground — a position
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. spring — a coil
  15. shower — to wash
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. shower — rain
  18. spring — of water
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. spell — magic
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. board — to get on
  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