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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. club — for golf
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — finally
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — of law
  12. bound — tied together
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. court — for sport
  15. bound — obliged
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. club — a group
  18. last — final
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. court — of a king
  21. club — for dancing
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. last — to go on
  24. bound — certain

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