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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. fall — the season
  8. date — the fruit
  9. fall — to drop
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. net — for catching
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. net — after costs
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. net — in sport
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wound — an injury

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