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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tube — a container
  5. mate — a partner
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. clip — a video
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mate — a friend
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. court — of a king
  21. clip — for paper
  22. court — for sport
  23. sharp — clever
  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