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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a trace
  5. clip — for paper
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. tear — from crying
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tear — from crying
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. clip — a video
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. mark — a grade
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. dip — to sink
  24. trunk — of a tree

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