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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. court — for sport
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. file — a tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. kick — in football
  16. capital — a city
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lean — thin
  19. court — of a king
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. court — of law

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