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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: kick · board · land · tear · sharp · court · press · saw

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. board — a committee
  3. land — to come down
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. court — of a king
  6. sharp — clever
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. press — a publisher
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. land — ground
  12. press — newspapers
  13. court — of law
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. saw — the tool
  16. press — to push
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kick — in football
  20. land — a country
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tear — from crying
  23. board — to get on
  24. court — for sport

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