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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: wound · dip · clip · staff · lean · mine · can · saw

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. dip — to sink
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. staff — employees
  5. wound — an injury
  6. saw — the tool
  7. staff — employees
  8. can — a tin
  9. staff — a stick
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. can — to be able to
  12. lean — to bend
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. clip — a video
  20. lean — thin
  21. can — a tin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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