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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. current — electric
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cold — not warm
  12. date — the fruit
  13. current — of water
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. current — happening now
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cold — an illness

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