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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. court — of law
  3. rock — music
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cell — a phone
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. game — wild animals
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. rock — a stone
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. rest — what's left
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. court — for sport
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rest — a break
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rest — what's left
  21. court — of a king
  22. game — a match
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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