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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: squash · dip · coach · land · court · clip · leaves · club

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — for dancing
  3. court — of law
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. club — for golf
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — of a king
  16. dip — to sink
  17. clip — a video
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — to crush
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. club — a group
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. squash — the sport
  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