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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. saw — the tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. last — to go on
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. last — finally
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. last — final
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pound — a weight
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. season — in sport

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