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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. current — of water
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of law
  12. sharp — clever
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bat — the animal
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — happening now
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. court — of a king
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. current — electric

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