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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. dip — to sink
  6. land — a country
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. can — a tin
  10. stem — to come from
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. kid — child
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. saw — the tool
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. land — ground
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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