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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pit — in a race
  3. clip — to cut
  4. suit — to fit
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. suit — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. suit — clothes
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pit — a hole
  18. board — a committee
  19. hand — in cards
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. clip — a video
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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