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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.

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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 · cold · fall · court · march · firm · saw · stick

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. firm — a company
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. firm — decided
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. fall — the season
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — an illness
  18. march — music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. firm — steady
  22. march — the month
  23. fall — to drop
  24. sharp — clever

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