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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. court — of law
  9. club — a group
  10. bound — tied together
  11. club — for golf
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. court — for sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. present — there
  23. bound — certain
  24. calf — of the leg

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