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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fine — all right
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cold — not warm
  7. court — of law
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. court — for sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. fine — high quality
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. fork — in a road
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cold — an illness

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