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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — for paper
  3. deal — to handle
  4. present — a gift
  5. tube — a container
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — the time now
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — a video
  13. cell — in biology
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. court — for sport
  17. staff — a stick
  18. court — of law
  19. rest — what's left
  20. present — there
  21. staff — employees
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. clip — to cut
  24. staff — employees

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