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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 120 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. ball — a great time
  3. fine — all right
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — for sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. branch — a division
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. rest — a break
  12. chest — a box
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — of a king
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rush — hurry
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. court — of law

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