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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. clip — a video
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — to cut
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. band — a ring
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. face — to confront
  22. band — a music group
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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