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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 116 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: net · pit · cold · mine · wave · court · dip · lean

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. pit — a hole
  4. court — for sport
  5. lean — thin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. net — in sport
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. dip — to sink
  11. net — for catching
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — an illness
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — after costs
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — in a race

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