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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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. squash — to crush
  4. roll — a cake
  5. last — finally
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pop — soda
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. sharp — clever
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. last — to go on
  13. capital — money
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. roll — a list
  16. pop — to visit
  17. last — final
  18. pop — music
  19. court — of law
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. squash — the sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. court — for sport

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