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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. content — happy
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. sharp — clever
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. court — for sport
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. sharp — with an edge

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