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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. swing — in golf
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. swing — music
  6. ground — the earth
  7. last — to go on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fine — high quality
  14. ground — a position
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tear — from crying
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — child
  19. last — final
  20. court — of a king
  21. last — finally
  22. fine — all right
  23. ground — crushed
  24. tear — from crying

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