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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: shower · lie · rock · content · clip · court · chip · can

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. chip — for betting
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. shower — to wash
  6. clip — to cut
  7. can — a tin
  8. rock — a stone
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. court — of a king
  12. clip — for paper
  13. court — for sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. content — happy
  16. can — to be able to
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. content — the amount
  19. shower — rain
  20. clip — a video
  21. rock — music
  22. court — of law
  23. lie — to recline
  24. chip — to eat

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