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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a music group
  4. firm — decided
  5. clip — to cut
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. court — of law
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. band — a ring
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — a company
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper

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