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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. plane — a tool
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — of law
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — of a king
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rush — hurry
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. plane — an aircraft

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