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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. clip — to cut
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — for paper
  5. last — finally
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cue — for pool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. last — to go on
  11. fine — all right
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. last — final
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. clip — a video
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fine — high quality
  20. content — happy
  21. cue — a signal
  22. content — the amount
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. dip — to dunk

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