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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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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: fall · bore · clip · pound · trunk · tear · wake · dip

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. tear — from crying
  3. clip — a video
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bore — to tire
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bore — to drill
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. tear — from crying
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fall — the season
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pound — a weight
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. clip — for paper
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — to sink

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