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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. object — an aim
  3. chest — of your body
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fall — to drop
  7. squash — to crush
  8. branch — a division
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fall — the season
  16. object — to protest
  17. fall — to drop
  18. date — the fruit
  19. object — a thing
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chest — a box
  24. dip — to sink

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