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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pitch — completely
  12. craft — boats
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stem — to come from
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. shower — rain

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