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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: clip · snap · saw · court · dip · board · press · sharp

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. press — to push
  2. court — for sport
  3. dip — to sink
  4. snap — to click
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. press — newspapers
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — of law
  12. clip — for paper
  13. saw — the tool
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — clever
  20. press — a publisher
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. saw — the tool
  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