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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bark — to shout
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. ground — crushed
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. dip — to sink
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. snap — to click
  14. stem — to come from
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. ground — the earth
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. kick — in football
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chip — in a computer

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