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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 124 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. last — final
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. last — to go on
  13. lean — to bend
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. last — finally
  16. lean — thin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. cell — a phone
  21. roll — a list
  22. dip — to sink
  23. tear — to rip
  24. prune — to trim

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