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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of a king
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. court — of law
  5. staff — a stick
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. firm — decided
  10. bat — the animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. firm — a company
  15. content — the amount
  16. clip — a video
  17. staff — employees
  18. clip — to cut
  19. saw — the tool
  20. firm — steady
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. staff — employees
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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