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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rule — government
  3. clip — a video
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. court — of a king
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a trace
  11. court — for sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. clip — for paper
  16. craft — a skill
  17. mark — a grade
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rule — a law
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — of law
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. sharp — clever
  24. calf — of the leg

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