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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. present — the time now
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pit — a hole
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. court — of a king
  9. present — there
  10. file — a document
  11. present — a gift
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. file — a tool
  14. sharp — clever
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. swing — music
  19. pit — in a race
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. swing — in golf
  22. file — a line of people
  23. swing — to play on
  24. court — for sport

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