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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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. club — a group
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. bear — the animal
  10. field — for sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. club — for dancing
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. staff — a stick
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. bear — the animal
  23. club — for golf
  24. court — for sport

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