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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. rest — a break
  5. bank — for money
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. bank — for money
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. clip — a video
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. suit — to fit
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bat — for baseball

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