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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. stock — shares
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. spell — letters
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. sharp — exactly

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