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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. clip — to cut
  6. content — the amount
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. fine — all right
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spring — a coil
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. band — a ring
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. court — of a king
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a music group
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. court — of law
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. content — happy

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