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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. court — of law
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rash — hasty
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — for sport
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pit — a hole
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mark — a grade
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rash — a series
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mine — for digging

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