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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. drill — a practice
  3. dip — to sink
  4. lean — thin
  5. spell — letters
  6. stem — to come from
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. squash — the sport
  10. rash — hasty
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rash — a series
  13. drill — the tool
  14. lean — to bend
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. drill — army training
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spell — magic

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