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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: cell · kick · shower · clip · scale · dip · present · bear

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. kick — in football
  3. scale — size or range
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. present — a gift
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. shower — rain
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. clip — for paper
  15. dip — to sink
  16. present — the time now
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bear — the animal
  19. present — there
  20. scale — in music
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. dip — a sauce

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