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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. last — to go on
  6. court — of a king
  7. mine — for digging
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. last — final
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. lean — to bend
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. lean — thin
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. sharp — clever
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. file — a document
  22. pound — a weight
  23. last — finally
  24. court — for sport

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