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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: staff · bowl · date · court · capital · clip · spell · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. spell — letters
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. staff — employees
  5. spell — a short time
  6. clip — a video
  7. date — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pit — a hole
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — money
  12. court — of a king
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spell — magic
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. staff — employees
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. capital — a city
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. court — for sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. date — on the calendar

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