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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 116 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: wind · court · clip · bat · dip · drill · pitcher · season

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. dip — to sink
  3. drill — the tool
  4. court — for sport
  5. drill — army training
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of a king
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. season — in sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wind — moving air
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. clip — a video
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. court — of law
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. clip — to cut
  23. drill — a practice
  24. dip — a sauce

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