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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.

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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. content — happy
  6. sharp — clever
  7. drill — a practice
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. hand — in cards
  10. race — humankind
  11. hand — help
  12. mate — to breed
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mate — a friend
  15. race — a contest
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rule — a law
  18. content — the amount
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rule — government
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. spell — magic
  23. drill — army training
  24. rule — to rule out

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