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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. court — for sport
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. court — of a king
  6. craft — boats
  7. pass — a permit
  8. court — of law
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. mine — for digging
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — to cut
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — a skill
  24. hand — in cards

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