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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — a video
  3. stand — to bear
  4. spring — of water
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spring — a coil
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — of law
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. spring — the season
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rock — music
  22. court — of a king
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stand — for spectators

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