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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: wind · mouse · fan · racket · stick · trunk · clip · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. clip — for paper
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. court — for sport
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mouse — for a computer

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