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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. sharp — clever
  3. snap — to click
  4. court — of a king
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — in music
  7. club — for golf
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. shower — to wash
  10. key — the most important part
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. court — for sport
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. shower — rain
  21. key — for a lock
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. club — for dancing
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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