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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. march — the month
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. march — music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rush — hurry
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. march — the month
  21. fork — in a road
  22. clip — a video
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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