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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of a king
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. perch — the fish
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in biology
  20. sharp — clever
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — for sport
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. perch — for a bird

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