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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. firm — decided
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — for paper
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — to cut
  16. firm — steady
  17. clip — a video
  18. key — in music
  19. dip — to sink
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wind — moving air
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. firm — a company

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