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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 120 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: ball · board · clip · lean · coach · kid · dip · content

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. board — to get on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. lean — to bend
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — a video
  10. board — a committee
  11. ball — a great time
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — for paper
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. clip — to cut
  20. dip — to sink
  21. lean — thin
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. content — videos and posts

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