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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. march — music
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bore — to tire
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — for paper
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — to cut
  17. march — the month
  18. lie — to recline
  19. squash — to crush
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bore — to drill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. squash — the sport
  24. clip — a video

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