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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. clip — a video
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — to cut
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — help
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. court — for sport
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — for paper
  22. court — of a king
  23. march — music
  24. racket — a loud noise

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