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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. current — of water
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. tube — a container
  7. current — happening now
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. pop — soda
  13. dip — to sink
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. current — electric
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pop — music
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pop — to visit

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