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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. clip — to cut
  4. snap — to click
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. spring — of water
  7. club — for golf
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. court — of a king
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. court — for sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — a video
  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