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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. rock — a stone
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. rock — music
  12. dip — to sink
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stem — to come from
  17. degree — temperature
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. degree — from a university

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