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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. fork — in a road
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a path
  12. court — for sport
  13. track — a song
  14. stem — to come from
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. track — to keep track
  20. court — of law
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. court — of a king

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