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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — for sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. firm — steady
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. snap — to click
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. firm — a company
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hand — in cards
  17. capital — a city
  18. firm — decided
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. capital — money
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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