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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. court — for sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. present — a gift
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. clip — to cut
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. ground — the earth
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. ground — crushed
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. present — there
  22. present — the time now
  23. clip — for paper
  24. ground — a position

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