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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 116 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
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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: leaves · pit · court · march · mug · bowl · clip · sharp

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. court — of a king
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mug — to rob
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. mug — a face
  16. march — the month
  17. court — of law
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. court — for sport
  20. mug — a cup
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pit — in a race
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. sharp — clever

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