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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: hand · pass · ground · clip · court · trunk · mark · firm

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — in cards
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. ground — crushed
  9. court — for sport
  10. ground — a position
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mark — a grade
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. firm — a company
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. court — of law
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hand — help
  23. pass — a permit
  24. clip — a video

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