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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. clip — a video
  5. spring — of water
  6. court — for sport
  7. suit — to fit
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. court — of a king
  12. suit — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spring — the season
  18. clip — for paper
  19. spring — a coil
  20. scale — size or range
  21. court — of law
  22. scale — in music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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