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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. file — a line of people
  7. row — to paddle
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. file — a document
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. file — a tool
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pit — in a race
  22. game — a match
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — of a plant

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