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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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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: bat · present · rest · dip · clip · court · cap · race

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rest — what's left
  5. race — humankind
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. rest — what's left
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. present — the time now
  13. court — of law
  14. dip — to sink
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bat — the animal
  17. present — a gift
  18. cap — a lid
  19. court — of a king
  20. race — a contest
  21. present — there
  22. race — the arms race
  23. court — for sport
  24. rest — a break

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