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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. hand — help
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. clip — a video
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bound — tied together
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. bound — certain
  13. firm — steady
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — to cut
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bound — obliged
  19. dip — to sink
  20. toast — bread
  21. hand — in cards
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bat — the animal

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