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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. court — of a king
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stock — goods
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stock — shares
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chair — a leader
  23. court — for sport
  24. rest — a break

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