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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: deal · chest · dip · mark · clip · pop · roll · ground

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. pop — music
  3. mark — a trace
  4. ground — a position
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. chest — a box
  9. pop — soda
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. clip — a video
  13. roll — a cake
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — to sink
  18. ground — crushed
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pop — to visit
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chest — of your body

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