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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — to come from
  4. court — of law
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. court — for sport
  7. vault — a safe
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. dip — to sink
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mate — to breed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — to come down
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. mate — a partner
  23. court — of a king
  24. mate — a friend

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