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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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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: roll · pit · mate · squash · fork · snap · dip · spring

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. mate — to breed
  3. snap — to click
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. roll — a cake
  7. squash — to crush
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mate — a partner
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fork — in a road
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mate — a friend
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. pit — a hole
  22. roll — a list
  23. dip — a sauce
  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