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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — crushed
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. clip — to cut
  8. spell — a short time
  9. court — for sport
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. spell — magic
  12. ground — a position
  13. capital — money
  14. court — of a king
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spell — letters
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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