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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · safe · pound · wind · court · bat · game · rush

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of a king
  4. game — a match
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. court — for sport
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. court — of law

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