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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of law
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cue — for pool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chest — of your body
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. court — of a king
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. chest — a box
  18. cue — a signal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. kick — in football
  23. court — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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