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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mark — a grade
  3. dip — to sink
  4. game — wild animals
  5. land — a country
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. land — ground
  14. mark — a trace
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. land — to come down
  18. stem — to come from
  19. game — a match
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bound — certain

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