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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. court — for sport
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bank — for money
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — a law
  11. clip — to cut
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. court — of law
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bank — for money
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. lie — to recline
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. clip — a video
  24. bank — of a river

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