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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: clip · trunk · sharp · coach · nail · wind · dip · face

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. clip — a video
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. dip — to sink
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. face — to confront
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. face — to point toward
  19. face — part of the head
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — a sauce

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