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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: mine · dip · perch · bay · club · land · clip · stem

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. club — for golf
  3. stem — to come from
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. club — for dancing
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. land — a country
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. clip — a video
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — for paper
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — ground
  19. club — a group
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — to come down
  24. clip — to cut

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