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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.

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: charge · court · sharp · hand · season · mug · drill · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. charge — a price
  3. season — of the year
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. drill — army training
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. sharp — clever
  9. hand — help
  10. season — in sport
  11. mug — to rob
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mug — a face
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. charge — electricity
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. court — of law
  22. mug — a cup
  23. charge — in control
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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