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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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Word bank
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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. game — a match
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. charge — electricity
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. perch — the fish
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. game — wild animals
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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