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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. clip — for paper
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cell — in biology
  5. date — the fruit
  6. mug — a face
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. hand — help
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. dip — to sink
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. hand — in cards

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