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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. band — a ring
  3. lie — to recline
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. track — a path
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. track — a song
  10. last — to go on
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. band — a music group
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — for paper
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. last — final
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. pound — a weight
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — to sink
  24. fine — all right

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