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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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Word bank
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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: clip · rest · race · dip · chest · bay

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. clip — a video
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. dip — to sink
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — a contest
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rest — a break
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — humankind
  18. bay — a horse colour

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