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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 124 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. race — humankind
  9. press — to push
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. press — newspapers
  16. dip — to sink
  17. race — a contest
  18. bat — the animal
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. race — the arms race
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spell — letters
  23. press — a publisher
  24. trunk — of a tree

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