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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. sharp — clever
  7. court — of law
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. wake — a trail
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pop — to visit
  14. court — of a king
  15. pop — music
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. pop — soda
  18. foot — part of the body

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