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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. firm — a company
  6. court — of a king
  7. band — a music group
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. clip — a video
  10. saw — the tool
  11. firm — decided
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — for paper
  14. firm — steady
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. fork — in a road
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. court — of law

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