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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. sharp — clever
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. plane — a tool
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — a position
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ground — the earth
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. squash — the vegetable

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