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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hand — help
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mine — for digging

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