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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 116 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: cell · tear · pit · current · row · lash · clip · dip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. current — electric
  3. pit — in a race
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. current — of water
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pit — a hole
  12. row — a line
  13. cell — in biology
  14. current — happening now
  15. clip — a video
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. tear — from crying
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. row — to paddle
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cell — in a prison

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