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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rock — music
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rock — a stone
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cell — in biology

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