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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: toast · cap · wake · court · band · clip · snap · mug

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. clip — to cut
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. toast — bread
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. mug — to rob
  13. clip — a video
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. band — a ring
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cap — a lid
  20. band — a music group
  21. court — of a king
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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