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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. root — of a plant
  4. dip — to sink
  5. root — the cause
  6. tear — from crying
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wake — a trail
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. toast — bread
  18. date — the fruit
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. root — of a word
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hand — help
  24. date — on the calendar

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