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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. spell — letters
  3. staff — a stick
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. current — happening now
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. current — electric
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. spell — magic
  16. rash — a series
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. clip — a video
  19. current — of water
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. spell — a short time
  24. court — of law

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