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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. game — a match
  3. mark — a trace
  4. row — to paddle
  5. can — to be able to
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. court — of law
  8. chair — a leader
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. court — of a king
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. game — wild animals
  24. sharp — exactly

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