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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. court — of law
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. drill — the tool
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. season — of the year
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ball — a great time
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kick — in football
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. dip — to sink
  22. season — in sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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