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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 124 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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. swing — to play on
  4. court — of a king
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. court — of law
  8. snap — to click
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. swing — in golf
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — rain
  18. swing — music
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. toast — bread

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