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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. court — for sport
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. staff — employees
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — to come from
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — employees
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pop — music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pop — soda
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. staff — a stick

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