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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. squash — to crush
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. key — the most important part
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. club — for dancing
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cold — not warm
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. club — a group
  24. foot — the bottom

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