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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — money
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. capital — a city
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rock — music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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