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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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. sharp — clever
  9. clip — for paper
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rash — a series
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. clip — a video
  14. court — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tube — a container
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. court — of a king
  23. rest — a break
  24. straw — dry grass

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