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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rush · wound · rash · mark · dip · stem · clip · cap

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mark — a grade
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rush — hurry
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rash — hasty
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rash — a series
  19. clip — for paper
  20. dip — to sink
  21. cap — of ice
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wound — an injury

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