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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. stock — shares
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. pop — to visit
  8. bound — obliged
  9. court — of law
  10. pop — music
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bound — certain
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bound — tied together
  15. court — for sport
  16. press — to push
  17. pop — soda
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. court — of a king

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