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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of law
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. ground — a position
  8. clip — a video
  9. kick — in football
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kid — to tease
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wake — a trail
  17. court — for sport
  18. mark — a trace
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — child
  23. mark — a grade
  24. court — of a king

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