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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. clip — a video
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. club — a group
  7. tube — a container
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. clip — for paper
  12. club — for golf
  13. court — of law
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. club — for dancing
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. clip — to cut
  21. court — of a king
  22. mate — a partner
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — lets stay

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