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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 116 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wound — an injury
  9. court — of a king
  10. season — in sport
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fork — in a road
  16. season — of the year
  17. court — for sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. clip — a video
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. court — of law
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. mine — belonging to me

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