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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cell — in biology
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. court — of a king
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. clip — for paper
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. clip — to cut
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. court — for sport
  15. bound — certain
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. clip — a video
  18. bound — obliged
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — help
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — a phone
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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