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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rush — hurry
  10. suit — in cards
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. firm — steady
  17. court — for sport
  18. suit — to fit
  19. branch — a division
  20. firm — decided
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cold — an illness
  23. suit — clothes
  24. firm — a company

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