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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mug — to rob
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. clip — a video
  15. sharp — clever
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — the season
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pass — a permit
  21. mug — a cup
  22. clip — for paper
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. mug — a face

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