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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. squash — the sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. bound — tied together
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. ball — a great time
  12. clip — for paper
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bound — obliged
  15. court — of a king
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bound — certain
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. squash — the vegetable

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