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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · clip · dip · cold · squash · land · trunk · bay

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. clip — a video
  3. land — ground
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. land — a country
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — not warm
  11. squash — the sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. cold — an illness
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. hand — help
  19. land — to come down
  20. dip — to sink
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. clip — to cut
  23. squash — to crush
  24. dip — to dunk

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