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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. net — after costs
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. clip — a video
  6. net — for catching
  7. hand — in cards
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. net — in sport
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. club — a group
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. court — of a king

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