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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. key — the most important part
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ground — a position
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. dip — to sink
  24. sharp — with an edge

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