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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: chest · dip · bank · clip · date · capital · present · lash

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. dip — to sink
  3. capital — money
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bank — for money
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. present — there
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — a box
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — of your body
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. present — the time now
  17. bank — for money
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. chest — of your body
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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