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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. game — wild animals
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. court — of law
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rock — a stone
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of a king
  22. rock — music
  23. court — for sport
  24. leaves — lets stay

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