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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. band — a music group
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cue — a signal
  15. toast — bread
  16. cue — a hint
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. dip — to sink
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bark — to shout

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