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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. dip — to sink
  5. face — to point toward
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bark — to shout
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — for sport
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. court — of law
  15. face — to confront
  16. court — of a king
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. mug — a face
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. clip — for paper
  21. deal — to handle
  22. clip — to cut
  23. face — part of the head
  24. deal — an agreement

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