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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: bay · stem · dip · ball · clip · face · kid · bear

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. clip — a video
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — to confront
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. face — part of the head
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. bear — to put up with

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