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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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. pitch — a sports field
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. date — the fruit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — a video
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. court — for sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — money
  23. court — of law
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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