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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bound — obliged
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mate — a partner
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. game — a match
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bound — tied together
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. stem — to come from
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. shower — rain
  24. bound — certain

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