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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. sharp — clever
  4. game — a match
  5. rock — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. game — wild animals
  9. clip — to cut
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. object — a thing
  12. rock — a stone
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — to protest
  18. land — a country

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