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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. season — of the year
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. rash — a series
  6. season — in sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — a video
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — to visit
  22. rash — hasty
  23. stem — to come from
  24. dip — to dunk

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