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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kid — child
  3. fork — in a road
  4. object — to protest
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. court — of a king
  8. object — a thing
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. object — an aim
  13. court — of law
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. march — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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