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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ball — a great time
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rule — government
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. mug — a cup
  11. staff — employees
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rule — a law
  16. court — of a king
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. clip — a video
  20. ball — a dance
  21. court — for sport
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mug — to rob
  24. fan — a supporter

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