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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 116 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: rock · squash · march · present · court · kid · sharp · mine

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. march — music
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. present — a gift
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — for digging
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. present — there
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. squash — to crush
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. present — the time now
  19. kid — child
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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