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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — moving air
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. clip — for paper
  9. court — of a king
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. date — the fruit
  13. court — for sport
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. net — after costs
  18. craft — a skill
  19. net — in sport
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bark — to shout
  23. net — for catching
  24. clip — a video

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