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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of a king
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. last — final
  11. clip — a video
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. last — finally
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ground — a position
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rock — music
  20. ground — the earth
  21. last — to go on
  22. kid — child
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. rock — a stone

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