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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. shower — rain
  8. pass — a permit
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. shower — to wash
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. march — music
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. squash — to crush

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