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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pass — a permit
  4. tube — the underground
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. tube — a container
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kick — in football
  19. rest — what's left
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. rest — a break
  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