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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. court — for sport
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. court — of a king
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. current — electric
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — the earth
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. current — of water
  15. court — of law
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. current — happening now
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. clip — a video
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. ground — crushed
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. clip — to cut

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