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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: press · kick · bound · key · spell · dip · court · clip

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. kick — in football
  3. court — for sport
  4. clip — to cut
  5. press — a publisher
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. clip — a video
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. clip — for paper
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — of law
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — of a king
  15. press — to push
  16. bound — certain
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spell — a short time
  20. dip — to sink
  21. spell — magic
  22. press — newspapers
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. kick — 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