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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 · lie · bear · pop · stick · chest · present · shower

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. present — a gift
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pop — soda
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pop — music
  10. shower — rain
  11. present — the time now
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. shower — to wash
  14. lie — to recline
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chest — a box
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. clip — a video
  19. present — there
  20. chest — of your body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pop — to visit
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — of your body

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