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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. tear — from crying
  4. dip — to sink
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tear — from crying
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wax — to grow
  12. spell — magic
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. perch — the fish
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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