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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. court — for sport
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. court — of a king
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — help
  12. rest — what's left
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. sharp — clever
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pass — a permit
  17. rest — a break
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. racket — a loud noise

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