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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. court — of law
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. last — to go on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — for a lock
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. last — finally
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. key — in music
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. shower — rain
  18. court — for sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. court — of a king
  21. dip — to sink
  22. last — final
  23. sharp — clever
  24. stand — to bear

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