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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. tube — the underground
  3. lean — thin
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — for sport
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — a subject
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spring — the season
  10. lean — to bend
  11. field — farmland
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. ground — the earth
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. spring — of water
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. tube — a container
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. stem — to come from

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