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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. board — to get on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. swing — to play on
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — a committee
  12. game — a match
  13. swing — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — wild animals
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree

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