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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. kid — to tease
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. saw — the tool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kid — child
  9. court — of law
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. dip — to sink
  16. court — of a king
  17. stem — to come from
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. court — for sport
  24. bowl — to roll

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