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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. current — of water
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. court — for sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. court — of law
  11. current — electric
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. march — the month
  19. court — of a king
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. sharp — clever
  24. march — music

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