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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — of the year
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. season — in sport
  11. track — a path
  12. court — for sport
  13. stand — to bear
  14. track — to keep track
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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