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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 120 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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. face — to confront
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — to cut
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. dip — to sink
  22. clip — for paper
  23. stem — to come from
  24. face — part of the head

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