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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · court · game · clip · mate · pitcher · lean · temple

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. court — for sport
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a match
  12. court — of a king
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. clip — for paper
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lean — thin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — to bend

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