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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. march — music
  3. court — of law
  4. bore — to tire
  5. march — the month
  6. firm — decided
  7. bore — to drill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. court — for sport
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — of a king
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — size or range
  20. firm — a company
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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