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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. club — for golf
  3. court — for sport
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. dip — to sink
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. chair — a leader
  9. court — of a king
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ground — the earth
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cap — a hat
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cap — of ice
  20. court — of law
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a lid
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. chair — a professorship

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