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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cue — a hint
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. swing — to play on
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — clothes
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. court — of law
  12. cue — a signal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. court — of a king
  19. sharp — clever
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. suit — to fit
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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