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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: bore · pit · fan · spring · dip · wound · lean · kid

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. spring — the season
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. lean — to bend
  8. pit — a hole
  9. kid — child
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pit — in a race
  21. dip — to sink
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bore — to drill
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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