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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. snap — to click
  3. drill — army training
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. firm — steady
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — of law
  9. bear — the animal
  10. firm — a company
  11. drill — a practice
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — for sport
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. clip — a video
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bear — the animal
  24. firm — decided

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