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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: dip · cabinet · straw · saw · ground · stem · season · fork

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. season — of the year
  11. dip — to sink
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. season — in sport
  19. fork — in a road
  20. ground — a position
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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