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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: safe · clip · mark · sharp · field · tube · pop · court

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pop — music
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — to visit
  7. clip — to cut
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — soda
  10. court — of a king
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. clip — for paper
  13. tube — the underground
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. clip — a video
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — farmland
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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