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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. land — ground
  3. file — a line of people
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — a series
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mark — a trace
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mark — a grade
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rash — hasty
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. land — to come down
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a tool

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