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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. branch — a division
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rest — what's left
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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