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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 · pop · court · spring · field · drill · mouse · cue

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. field — farmland
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — the season
  6. court — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. drill — the tool
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. spring — a coil
  15. pop — soda
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. pop — to visit
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pop — music
  24. mouse — the animal

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