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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. content — happy
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — for sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rest — what's left
  12. court — of a king
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. rest — a break
  16. court — of law
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. content — the amount
  24. fork — to eat with

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