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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cue — a signal
  4. root — the cause
  5. tear — to rip
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. file — a tool
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a hint
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. cue — for pool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. dip — to sink
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wax — to grow
  23. file — a document
  24. wax — in the ear

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