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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. dip — to sink
  3. court — of law
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. court — for sport
  13. bass — low music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. ground — a position
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. ground — crushed
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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