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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. clip — a video
  3. chip — for betting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cue — a signal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bat — the animal
  8. clip — for paper
  9. last — final
  10. cue — a hint
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. last — to go on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. season — of the year
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — in sport
  21. last — finally
  22. court — of a king
  23. cue — for pool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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