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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — clever
  4. court — of law
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. court — for sport
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. court — of a king
  16. track — a path
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chair — a leader
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — boats
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. leaves — of a tree

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