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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. court — of law
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. file — a document
  10. swing — to play on
  11. court — for sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. swing — in golf
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wake — a trail
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. swing — music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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