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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. clip — for paper
  4. kid — child
  5. present — a gift
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. clip — a video
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. kid — to tease
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. present — there
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. clip — to cut
  20. hand — help
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. can — a tin
  23. hand — in cards
  24. court — for sport

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