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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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 — a video
  2. court — of a king
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. snap — to click
  7. club — for golf
  8. sharp — clever
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. court — for sport
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. club — for dancing
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. club — a group
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. stem — to come from
  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