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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bass — low music
  3. stock — goods
  4. spell — letters
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spell — a short time
  10. board — to get on
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. suit — clothes
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spell — magic
  15. bass — the fish
  16. hand — in cards
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — in cards
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a match
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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