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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. wind — moving air
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. land — to come down
  7. court — for sport
  8. mug — a cup
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. land — ground
  13. track — a path
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mug — a face
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. roll — a list
  20. wind — moving air
  21. land — a country
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mug — to rob
  24. roll — a cake

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