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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: trunk · clip · face · stock · date · dip · bore · foot

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. dip — to sink
  3. foot — a measure
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bore — to drill
  9. stock — goods
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. face — part of the head
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bore — to tire
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. face — to confront
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. clip — a video
  21. stock — shares
  22. face — to point toward
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. dip — a sauce

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