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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
468
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: board · fine · kid · wound · court · game · clip · dip

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. clip — a video
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. fine — all right
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of a king
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. clip — for paper
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — to sink
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of law
  18. board — a committee
  19. game — a match
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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