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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: clip · press · dip · kid · mine · coach · calf · snap

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. press — newspapers
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — to tease
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. clip — to cut
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — a video
  17. press — to push
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. press — a publisher
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kid — child
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. snap — to click

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