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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fine — high quality
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fine — all right
  6. suit — in cards
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — of a king
  9. clip — for paper
  10. suit — clothes
  11. present — the time now
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — for sport
  15. suit — to fit
  16. shower — rain
  17. court — of law
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — a contest
  20. present — a gift
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. present — there
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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