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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. key — for a lock
  4. pit — a hole
  5. tear — from crying
  6. key — in music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. tear — to rip
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — a match
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. key — the most important part
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pit — in a race
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tear — from crying
  22. sharp — clever
  23. court — for sport
  24. row — a line

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