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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. dip — to sink
  3. face — to point toward
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — in sport
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. cold — not warm
  11. face — to confront
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. face — part of the head
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. suit — in cards
  18. season — of the year
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. suit — clothes
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — a stem cell

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