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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — wild animals
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. game — a match
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. march — the month
  17. wake — a trail
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — exactly

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