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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. last — to go on
  7. staff — employees
  8. last — finally
  9. swing — music
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. court — of law
  19. last — final
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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