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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rest — a break
  4. tube — the underground
  5. file — a document
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. file — a line of people
  8. clip — for paper
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. clip — a video
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. tube — a container
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rest — what's left
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a tool

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