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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. clip — for paper
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. court — of a king
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — in sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bulb — for light
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bulb — for light
  21. clip — a video
  22. cell — a phone
  23. court — of law
  24. ruler — for measuring

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