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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cap — a hat
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cap — a lid
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. ball — a dance
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — of ice
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. snap — to click
  18. ball — a great time

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