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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: object · clip · foot · bat · court · last · jam · cabinet

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — for sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. object — to protest
  8. last — finally
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bat — the animal
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. object — an aim
  13. last — final
  14. object — a thing
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. clip — for paper

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