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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fine — all right
  7. march — music
  8. fine — high quality
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. staff — employees
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. staff — employees

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