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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. court — of a king
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — in football
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. court — for sport
  13. cue — a signal
  14. court — of law
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. sharp — clever

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