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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rule — government
  4. club — for golf
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. game — wild animals
  7. court — of a king
  8. wind — moving air
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — for sport
  15. club — a group
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fine — high quality
  19. court — of law
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rule — a 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