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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. file — a line of people
  3. court — of law
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fall — the season
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. file — a document
  9. object — to protest
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in biology
  12. dip — to sink
  13. file — a tool
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — for sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. court — of a king
  24. dip — to dunk

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