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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — to sink
  6. land — a country
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. staff — employees
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. land — ground
  14. clip — a video
  15. staff — a stick
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — a position
  18. pass — a permit
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. staff — employees
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. land — to come down
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — the earth

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