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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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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. roll — a list
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. roll — a cake
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. court — for sport
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. court — of a king
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. court — of law
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mate — to breed
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mate — a partner
  23. net — after costs
  24. 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