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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. clip — to cut
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cap — a lid
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. fall — to drop
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. drill — a practice
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. dip — to sink
  13. drill — army training
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. date — the fruit
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. fall — the season
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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