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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — for digging
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. net — in sport
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. lean — thin
  13. dip — to sink
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. net — after costs
  16. lean — to bend
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. net — for catching
  21. ground — the earth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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