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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of a king
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. club — for golf
  10. march — the month
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bound — tied together
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. club — a group
  18. bound — certain
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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