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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. file — a line of people
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a tool
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. dip — to sink
  11. branch — a division
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pit — in a race
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. sharp — clever
  24. calf — a young animal

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