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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. calf — of the leg
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bear — the animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. band — a ring
  12. clip — for paper
  13. band — a music group
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. foot — the bottom
  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