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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: cell · kid · dip · band · clip · stick

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. kid — to tease
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. band — a ring
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a music group
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. clip — a video

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