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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. track — to keep track
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. swing — music
  6. court — of law
  7. sharp — clever
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. track — a song
  11. clip — for paper
  12. swing — to play on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. charge — in control
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. clip — a video
  20. court — of a king
  21. charge — a price
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. swing — in golf
  24. clip — to cut

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