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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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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. clip — a video
  3. stand — to bear
  4. band — a music group
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. court — of a king
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. band — a ring
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chair — a leader

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