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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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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: clip · court · bank · pop · wave · roll · present · sharp

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. roll — a list
  3. present — the time now
  4. sharp — clever
  5. court — of a king
  6. bank — for money
  7. present — a gift
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pop — music
  10. clip — a video
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pop — soda
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — of law
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. present — there
  19. pop — to visit
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bank — for money
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. clip — to cut
  24. sharp — exactly

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