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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. dip — to sink
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hand — help
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — exactly
  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