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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 120 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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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: tear · dip · clip · suit · cell · game · bear · bay

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — to fit
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cell — a phone
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bear — the animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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