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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. swing — music
  9. chair — a leader
  10. last — to go on
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. last — final
  14. court — of law
  15. last — finally
  16. kick — in football
  17. swing — to play on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. court — for sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. tear — to rip
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. swing — in golf

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