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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. clip — a video
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. court — of law
  6. perch — the fish
  7. court — of a king
  8. fine — all right
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wake — a trail
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mine — for digging
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fall — the season
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pop — soda
  20. court — for sport
  21. pop — music
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pop — to visit
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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