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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. clip — a video
  3. can — a tin
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. spring — a coil
  8. can — a tin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spring — the season
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. spring — of water
  13. mark — a grade
  14. fine — all right
  15. wound — an injury
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fine — high quality
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. clip — for paper
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mark — a trace
  23. can — to be able to
  24. mark — to pay attention

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