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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. club — for golf
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. court — of law
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tube — a container
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. club — for dancing
  15. tube — the underground
  16. clip — a video
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. court — for sport
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. club — a group
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wind — moving air

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