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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. can — to be able to
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. can — a tin
  5. bank — of a river
  6. hand — in cards
  7. season — in sport
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. season — of the year
  10. clip — a video
  11. can — a tin
  12. board — a committee
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bank — for money
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — a weight
  18. court — of law
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. board — to get on
  21. bank — for money
  22. clip — to cut
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — part of the body

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