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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: track · clip · dip · cue · straw · current · trunk · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. clip — a video
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cue — a signal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. dip — to sink
  9. current — of water
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. clip — for paper
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. current — electric
  15. current — happening now
  16. track — a song
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — to cut
  19. track — a path
  20. cue — for pool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cue — a hint
  23. track — to keep track
  24. trunk — of a tree

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