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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · bay · clip · pop · plane · ball · cold · dip

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. clip — for paper
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. court — for sport
  6. cold — an illness
  7. court — of a king
  8. ball — a dance
  9. clip — a video
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — to visit
  12. court — of law
  13. pop — soda
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. ball — a great time
  16. dip — to sink
  17. plane — a tool
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. clip — to cut

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