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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · wake · dip · stem · pound · clip

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. clip — a video
  6. stem — to come from
  7. dip — to sink
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pound — a weight
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — a trail

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