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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. field — farmland
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — a subject
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. field — for sport
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. cold — an illness
  24. sharp — clever

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