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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. court — for sport
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bound — certain
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bound — tied together
  9. court — of law
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bound — obliged
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. court — of a king
  16. club — a group
  17. chair — a leader
  18. club — for golf

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