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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. pop — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of law
  6. bound — obliged
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pop — soda
  9. court — of a king
  10. bound — certain
  11. scale — in music
  12. bound — tied together
  13. can — a tin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. last — finally
  16. can — to be able to
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. can — a tin
  21. court — for sport
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pop — to visit
  24. sharp — clever

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