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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: clip · wake · racket · tear · spring · toast · court · stand

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — a video
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stand — to bear
  6. spring — of water
  7. toast — bread
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — the season
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. clip — to cut
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — for sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. court — of a king
  24. racket — a loud noise

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