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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: dip · clip · wake · stock · hand · leaves · land · pass

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pass — a permit
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. land — to come down
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stock — goods
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stock — shares
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. land — a country
  22. clip — a video
  23. land — ground
  24. leaves — lets stay

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