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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 120 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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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: march · court · clip · rest · mouse · saw · racket · ground

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. saw — the tool
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. court — of law
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. ground — a position
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. clip — for paper
  11. march — music
  12. ground — the earth
  13. march — the month
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. clip — to cut
  17. rest — what's left
  18. march — the month
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. court — of a king

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