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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — of water
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spring — a coil
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — a weight
  15. dip — to sink
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. tube — a container

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