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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: court · kid · firm · wave · kick · clip · pass · safe

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. firm — decided
  3. kid — to tease
  4. clip — to cut
  5. court — for sport
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. firm — a company
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — a video
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. firm — steady
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. kick — in football
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. pass — a permit

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