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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lean — to bend
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — a video
  9. fine — high quality
  10. court — of a king
  11. board — a committee
  12. lean — thin
  13. clip — for paper
  14. board — to get on
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. court — of law
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fine — all right
  19. rash — a series
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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