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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: snap · clip · chair · suit · bark · court · squash · march

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. court — of law
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. suit — in cards
  11. court — for sport
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. squash — the sport
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. squash — to crush
  16. march — music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — for paper
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. clip — a video
  22. snap — to click
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — clothes

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