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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. dip — to sink
  4. clip — to cut
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. content — the amount
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. toast — bread
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. hand — help
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pound — a weight
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — happy
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. clip — a video

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