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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. march — the month
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — wild animals
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. court — of law
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — music
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. current — electric
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. march — the month
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. court — for sport
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. board — to get on
  20. kick — in football
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. board — a committee

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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