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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. 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. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. cold — not warm
  5. net — after costs
  6. staff — employees
  7. suit — in cards
  8. chest — a box
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — in sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — for catching
  14. suit — to fit
  15. rest — what's left
  16. suit — clothes
  17. chest — of your body
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — clever
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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