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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 · spell · firm · staff · clip · bark · fall · ground

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. fall — to drop
  3. court — of a king
  4. firm — decided
  5. staff — employees
  6. firm — a company
  7. fall — the season
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. staff — employees
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. spell — magic
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. clip — to cut
  19. firm — steady
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bark — to shout
  22. staff — a stick
  23. court — for sport
  24. fall — to drop

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