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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — to play on
  4. court — of a king
  5. swing — music
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. swing — in golf
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — for sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — to go on
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. court — of law
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stem — to come from
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. last — final
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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