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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. court — of law
  3. rash — hasty
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rash — a series
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. capital — a city
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of a king
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. snap — to click
  20. capital — money
  21. court — for sport
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mine — belonging to me

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