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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wound — an injury
  5. snap — to click
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. court — for sport
  10. cell — in biology
  11. clip — to cut
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fork — in a road
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. court — of law

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