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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: court · saw · clip · mate · march · bank · calf · pass

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bank — of a river
  6. march — the month
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mate — a friend
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. march — music
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — of law
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bank — for money
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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