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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. last — final
  5. court — of law
  6. game — wild animals
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. cue — for pool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cue — a hint
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. sharp — clever
  17. last — finally
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cue — a signal
  22. last — to go on
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — of a king

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