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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chest — a box
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. march — music
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bore — to tire
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bore — to drill
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — to sink
  24. rash — a series

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