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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 120 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: club · staff · dip · kick · track · clip · content · row

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. track — a path
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. row — to paddle
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. track — a song
  9. track — to keep track
  10. club — a group
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. club — for golf
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — for paper
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. staff — employees
  20. club — for dancing
  21. staff — a stick
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. row — a line

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