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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 124 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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. staff — a stick
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — goods
  5. staff — employees
  6. tube — a container
  7. mine — for digging
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. clip — to cut
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rock — music
  14. board — to get on
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. board — a committee
  18. tube — the underground
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. rock — a stone
  21. clip — a video
  22. staff — employees
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. tube — in a tire

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