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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. court — of a king
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — to go on
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cold — an illness
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — electricity
  18. root — of a plant
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. charge — in control
  23. last — final
  24. cold — the Cold War

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