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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pop — music
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — there
  11. dip — to sink
  12. chest — of your body
  13. present — the time now
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pop — soda
  17. present — a gift
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. chest — a box
  21. lean — thin
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pop — to visit
  24. dip — a sauce

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