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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. chair — a leader
  3. court — for sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. court — of a king
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bulb — for light
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — of law
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bulb — of a plant

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