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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. shower — rain
  8. wind — moving air
  9. suit — clothes
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. band — a music group
  12. court — of law
  13. shower — to wash
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. foot — a measure
  20. suit — to fit
  21. wind — moving air
  22. suit — in cards
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — a video

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