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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  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. clip — to cut
  2. court — of a king
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. clip — for paper
  6. court — of law
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — for sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — rain
  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