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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. ball — a dance
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rule — a law
  7. ball — a great time
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. club — for dancing
  21. court — of law
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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