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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 · squash · pop · dip · board · kick · ground · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. game — wild animals
  5. board — to get on
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. ground — the earth
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pop — music
  12. clip — to cut
  13. pop — to visit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. squash — to crush
  17. pop — soda
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — in football
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. ground — a position
  22. board — a committee
  23. clip — for paper
  24. dip — to sink

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