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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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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: snap · sharp · row · wind · cell · foot · court · present

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. row — a line
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. foot — a measure
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cell — in biology
  11. row — to paddle
  12. present — there
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — a phone
  18. present — a gift
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. court — for sport
  22. present — the time now
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. snap — to click

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