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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · clip · file · season · lie · trunk · racket · bore

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — for paper
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. file — a line of people
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. file — a document
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. lie — to recline
  11. season — of the year
  12. file — a tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. court — of law
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — a video
  17. season — in sport
  18. bore — to drill
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bore — to tire
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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