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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. spring — the season
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cell — in biology
  6. court — of a king
  7. chest — a box
  8. court — of law
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. court — for sport
  18. suit — in cards
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. spring — of water
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. suit — clothes
  24. suit — to fit

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