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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. tube — a container
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. court — of a king
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — for catching
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wind — moving air
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. net — in sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. kick — in football
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. tube — the underground
  22. net — after costs
  23. march — music
  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