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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. squash — to crush
  3. suit — clothes
  4. face — part of the head
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. suit — to fit
  7. court — for sport
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. suit — in cards
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — for paper
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — a series
  14. face — to confront
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stand — to bear
  18. squash — the sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rash — hasty
  24. squash — the vegetable

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