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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. clip — for paper
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. clip — to cut
  5. land — ground
  6. ball — a great time
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ball — a dance
  9. land — a country
  10. march — music
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. season — of the year
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. march — the month
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. march — the month
  21. kick — in football
  22. clip — a video
  23. land — to come down
  24. season — in sport

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