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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.

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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kick — in football
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. row — a line
  9. cap — of ice
  10. row — to paddle
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cell — in biology
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. kick — a thrill

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