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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rush — hurry
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — to cut
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. dip — to sink
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — after costs
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. clip — for paper
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — in sport
  20. court — for sport
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. net — for catching

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