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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. can — a tin
  4. court — of law
  5. pop — soda
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. can — to be able to
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pass — a permit
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pop — to visit
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. clip — for paper
  16. pop — music
  17. rash — hasty
  18. can — a tin
  19. rash — a series
  20. hand — help
  21. clip — a video
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. court — for sport

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