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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: stem · dip · bark · bank · club · kid · clip · saw

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. club — for golf
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bark — to shout
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bank — for money
  11. club — for dancing
  12. clip — a video
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bank — of a river
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bank — for money
  22. club — a group
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. saw — the tool

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