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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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. bank — for money
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — for paper
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rest — a break
  10. sharp — clever
  11. court — of a king
  12. bank — for money
  13. scale — in music
  14. rest — what's left
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — size or range
  20. tube — a container
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bank — of a river
  24. leaves — of a tree

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