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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 · dip · pitch · wound · lie · cap · tear · game

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. clip — a video
  3. dip — to sink
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lie — to recline
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitch — completely
  18. tear — to rip
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cap — a hat
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — a match

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