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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. drill — the tool
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. degree — an amount
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — from a university
  9. drill — army training
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bass — low music
  12. shower — rain
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. drill — a practice
  18. degree — temperature
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bass — the fish
  24. shower — to wash

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