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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: land · pound · clip · toast · tear · lie · firm · dip

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. pound — a weight
  3. land — a country
  4. clip — for paper
  5. firm — steady
  6. lie — to recline
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. tear — from crying
  9. clip — a video
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. land — ground
  13. clip — to cut
  14. firm — decided
  15. toast — bread
  16. firm — a company
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. land — to come down

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