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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 120 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: bowl · suit · saw · clip · mine · sharp · bear · court

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. clip — to cut
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mine — for digging
  4. clip — for paper
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. suit — in cards
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. sharp — clever
  14. court — of law
  15. suit — to fit
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bear — the animal
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. clip — a video
  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