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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. mine — for digging
  4. court — for sport
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — a video
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — to cut
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — help
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — to come from
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mine — belonging to me

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