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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. court — of a king
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. clip — to cut
  12. shower — to wash
  13. court — for sport
  14. ball — a great time
  15. clip — a video
  16. shower — rain
  17. court — of law
  18. ball — a round shape

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