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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. row — a line
  3. dip — to sink
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. can — to be able to
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fall — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fall — to drop
  24. hide — to keep secret

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