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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: chest · pit · lean · clip · dip · fan · bound · net

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. clip — a video
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. lean — to bend
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lean — thin
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chest — of your body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — for catching
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — a box
  24. fan — a supporter

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