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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. clip — to cut
  4. key — the most important part
  5. file — a line of people
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. file — a document
  8. court — for sport
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. file — a tool
  12. key — in music
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fine — high quality
  17. key — for a lock
  18. court — of a king
  19. fine — all right
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. dip — to sink
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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