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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. march — the month
  4. lie — to recline
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. root — of a word
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. root — the cause
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. court — for sport
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. clip — a video
  16. root — of a plant
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. clip — for paper
  19. court — of a king
  20. row — a line
  21. clip — to cut
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. snap — to click

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