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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. sharp — clever
  4. court — of law
  5. bound — tied together
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bound — obliged
  10. prune — to trim
  11. dip — to sink
  12. face — to confront
  13. rash — hasty
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — of a king
  16. land — ground
  17. bound — certain
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rash — a series
  24. face — to point toward

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