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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
468
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: court · sharp · kick · bound · march · perch · file · pass

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. sharp — clever
  3. file — a tool
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pass — a permit
  7. bound — certain
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. file — a document
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bound — obliged
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bound — tied together
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. court — of a king
  21. perch — the fish
  22. kick — in football
  23. court — for sport
  24. march — music

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