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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — size or range
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. sharp — clever
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. fine — all right
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — high quality

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