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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. bark — to shout
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. clip — to cut
  8. plane — a tool
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. court — of a king
  13. clip — a video
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. staff — employees
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — for paper

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