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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. court — of a king
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. court — for sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fine — high quality
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fine — all right
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. clip — a video
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. court — of law
  22. clip — for paper
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. clip — to cut

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