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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 120 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. clip — to cut
  3. court — of law
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bark — to shout
  11. court — for sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. clip — a video
  14. game — a match
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. court — of a king
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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