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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · tear · sharp · court · cell · leaves · mine · squash

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. sharp — clever
  8. court — of law
  9. squash — the sport
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — for catching
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. net — in sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — to rip

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