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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — to cut
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — in football
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. court — of a king
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — help
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wake — a trail
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. vault — a safe

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