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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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 — to cut
  2. wake — a trail
  3. spring — of water
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — for sport
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mug — a face
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. court — of law
  13. spring — a coil
  14. club — a group
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. clip — a video
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. spring — the season
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mug — a cup
  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