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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. row — a line
  3. dip — to sink
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. lean — thin
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — happy
  17. drill — a practice
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. row — to paddle
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. lean — to bend
  23. drill — the tool
  24. row — a quarrel

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