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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kid — to tease
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. tube — a container
  11. snap — to click
  12. court — for sport
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tube — the underground
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. root — of a plant
  18. clip — for paper
  19. root — the cause
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. court — of law
  22. root — of a word
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. leaves — of a tree

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