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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 · staff · wake · object · court · bat · game · dip

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. court — for sport
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. clip — a video
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. object — an aim
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. staff — a stick
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. object — to protest
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. game — a match
  16. clip — for paper
  17. staff — employees
  18. object — a thing
  19. court — of law
  20. staff — employees
  21. dip — to sink
  22. court — of a king
  23. bat — the animal
  24. game — wild animals

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