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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. court — for sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. clip — for paper
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of a king
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. cue — a signal
  17. court — of law
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cue — for pool
  21. kid — child
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cue — a hint

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