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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. court — of law
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pop — soda
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pop — to visit
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bear — the animal
  19. lie — to recline
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of a king
  24. pop — music

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