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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 124 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. clip — for paper
  7. hand — help
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pit — in a race
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pit — a hole
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. court — for sport
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. safe — out of danger

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