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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bound — certain
  4. pit — a hole
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. content — happy
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pit — in a race
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. court — of a king
  16. content — the amount
  17. stock — goods
  18. court — for sport
  19. bound — tied together
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. court — of law
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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