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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 120 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of a king
  3. fine — high quality
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. fine — all right
  6. court — of law
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. court — for sport
  10. craft — boats
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. ground — the earth
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. degree — an amount
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. charge — in control
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. craft — a skill
  24. degree — from a university

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