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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 116 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stem — to come from
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. net — in sport
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. net — for catching
  13. saw — the tool
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. net — after costs
  17. race — humankind
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. race — the arms race
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. race — a contest
  23. dip — to sink
  24. saw — the tool

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