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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. season — of the year
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chip — to eat
  6. sharp — clever
  7. can — to be able to
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. cold — not warm
  10. can — a tin
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. can — a tin
  13. season — in sport
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chip — for betting
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. patient — a sick person

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