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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 · pit · clip · wake · foot · scale · court · date

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. court — of a king
  4. sharp — clever
  5. clip — a video
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. scale — in music
  11. foot — a measure
  12. pit — in a race
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wake — a trail
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pit — a hole
  21. scale — size or range
  22. clip — for paper
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. sharp — exactly

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