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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. field — farmland
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. hand — help
  16. field — for sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — in cards
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. rush — hurry
  24. field — a subject

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