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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: cell · last · dip · deal · pound · ball · present · clip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. last — to go on
  11. present — there
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — in biology
  16. present — a gift
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ball — a great time
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. dip — to sink
  21. present — the time now
  22. ball — a dance
  23. last — final
  24. deal — to handle

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