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

Word bank: dip · clip · field · jam · rule · bear · capital · kick

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — a city
  5. bear — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — money
  15. field — farmland
  16. bear — the animal
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. kick — in football
  20. clip — to cut
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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