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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: field · pit · clip · band · dip · bound · tear · prune

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. clip — a video
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a music group
  10. tear — from crying
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. clip — for paper
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — farmland
  16. clip — to cut
  17. band — a ring
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bound — obliged
  20. field — a subject
  21. bound — certain
  22. pit — a hole
  23. field — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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