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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. shower — to wash
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bass — the fish
  8. root — of a plant
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. court — of law
  12. clip — for paper
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — a hole
  15. court — for sport
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. clip — a video
  19. capital — a city
  20. bass — low music
  21. pit — in a race
  22. shower — rain
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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