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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 · toast · chip · court · season · branch · shower · dip

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. clip — a video
  6. season — of the year
  7. clip — to cut
  8. season — in sport
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. toast — bread
  16. chip — to eat
  17. dip — to sink
  18. court — of law
  19. chip — for betting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. branch — a division
  22. court — for sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. court — of a king

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