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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · mark · suit · kid · file · clip · stick · prune

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. file — a document
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — of law
  6. mark — a grade
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. suit — to fit
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. kid — to tease
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — child
  19. suit — in cards
  20. mark — a trace
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. suit — clothes
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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