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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 124 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: dip · swing · lie · spring · clip · court · rule · pitch

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. court — of law
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. swing — in golf
  7. clip — to cut
  8. swing — music
  9. pitch — completely
  10. rule — a law
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. lie — to recline
  14. dip — to sink
  15. spring — of water
  16. clip — for paper
  17. court — of a king
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rule — government
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — a video
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. spring — a coil

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