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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. clip — to cut
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bear — the animal
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wake — a trail
  13. clip — a video
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. bear — the animal
  23. club — for dancing
  24. hand — help

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