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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. dip — to sink
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. board — to get on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — a committee
  13. tear — to rip
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. sharp — clever
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — a trail

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