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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 120 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: lie · bat · court · shower · clip · wave · rush · track

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. lie — to recline
  4. track — a path
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rush — hurry
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. shower — to wash
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. track — a song
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. shower — rain
  20. clip — to cut
  21. court — of law
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. rush — a thrill

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