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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. hand — help
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. dip — to sink
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. staff — employees
  11. squash — the sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. court — of a king
  16. squash — to crush
  17. race — a contest
  18. hand — in cards
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. staff — employees
  24. court — for 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