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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. court — of law
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — final
  7. swing — in golf
  8. court — of a king
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — to bear
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. file — a tool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. court — for sport
  20. file — a document
  21. swing — music
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. file — a line of people

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