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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 ________________ took off on time.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. clip — for paper
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. net — after costs
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. net — in sport
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — for pool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — of law
  15. cue — a hint
  16. plane — a tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. net — for catching
  20. tube — the underground
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tube — a container
  24. plane — in geometry

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