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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. saw — the tool
  4. shower — rain
  5. sharp — clever
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — low music
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. shower — to wash
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match

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