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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. mate — a friend
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mate — to breed
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cap — a hat
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. court — of a king
  14. cap — of ice
  15. court — of law
  16. game — wild animals
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. clip — a video
  19. plane — a tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. mate — a partner
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. coach — a trainer

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