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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bear — the animal
  3. club — a group
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bear — the animal
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. fork — in a road
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — army training
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. club — for dancing
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. club — for golf
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. clip — for paper
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. dip — to sink

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