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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: clip · dip · content · fork · pitch · roll · court · arm

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. clip — a video
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. pitch — completely
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. roll — a cake
  14. clip — to cut
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. roll — a list
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — for paper

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