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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. ground — crushed
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ground — a position
  5. court — for sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. wake — a trail
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. clip — to cut
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. tear — from crying
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. clip — a video
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. club — a group
  24. court — of law

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