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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. court — for sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. court — of a king
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. court — of law
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. season — in sport
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bulb — for light
  19. sharp — clever
  20. season — of the year
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. hand — help
  23. swing — music
  24. sharp — exactly

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