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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. ball — a great time
  2. row — to paddle
  3. court — of a king
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. court — for sport
  8. row — a line
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. clip — a video
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. ball — a dance
  15. lean — thin
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. court — of law
  18. lean — to bend
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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