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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: mug · content · mate · object · clip · bat · straw · dip

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. object — an aim
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mug — to rob
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mate — to breed
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. content — happy
  10. mug — a cup
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mate — a friend
  14. object — to protest
  15. mate — a partner
  16. content — the amount
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. object — a thing
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. dip — to sink
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mug — a face

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