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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. fall — to drop
  3. swing — to play on
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. present — there
  10. fall — the season
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. craft — a skill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. scale — in music
  20. swing — music
  21. fall — to drop
  22. present — a gift
  23. scale — size or range
  24. swing — in golf

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