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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cue — for pool
  3. hand — help
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. last — final
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. content — the amount
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bank — of a river
  11. sharp — clever
  12. court — of a king
  13. cue — a signal
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. content — happy
  16. last — to go on
  17. cue — a hint
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. last — finally
  20. bank — for money
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bank — for money
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. court — for sport

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