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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  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 sink
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. clip — to cut
  4. land — a country
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. saw — the tool
  8. land — ground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — in football
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. date — the fruit
  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