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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kid — child
  3. tube — a container
  4. bear — the animal
  5. track — a song
  6. hand — help
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — certain
  10. hand — in cards
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bound — tied together
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bound — obliged
  23. kid — to tease
  24. dip — a sauce

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