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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pop — to visit
  5. rash — hasty
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — letters
  9. pop — soda
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. foot — a measure
  12. rush — hurry
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pop — music
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rash — a series
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. spell — magic

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