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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. wind — moving air
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. club — for dancing
  15. dip — to sink
  16. clip — a video
  17. object — an aim
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — clever
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — a break

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