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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mug — to rob
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — a subject
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a hat
  13. key — for a lock
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cap — a lid
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cap — of ice
  20. clip — for paper
  21. field — for sport
  22. key — in music
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mug — a face

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