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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. root — of a word
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — to come from
  7. root — the cause
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. dip — to sink
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tube — a container
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — of a plant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — a jug

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