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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. track — to keep track
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. board — a committee
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. court — of a king
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. clip — a video
  16. track — a song
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. board — to get on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. kick — in football
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kid — child

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