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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pound — a weight
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — a permit
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — to rip
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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