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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. clip — for paper
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bound — tied together
  7. clip — a video
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. clip — to cut
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. snap — to click
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. dip — to sink
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wake — a trail
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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