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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.

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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: staff · court · can · hide · wave · clip · content · pit

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. clip — for paper
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of a king
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. court — for sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. staff — employees
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pit — a hole
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — of law
  17. content — the amount
  18. clip — a video
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. content — happy
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. pit — in a race

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