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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. game — a match
  7. firm — a company
  8. court — of law
  9. bass — low music
  10. last — final
  11. bear — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. clip — a video
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — for paper
  16. court — for sport
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. firm — decided
  19. firm — steady
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — of a king
  22. last — finally
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bass — the instrument

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