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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bass — low music
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. saw — the tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pound — a weight
  24. racket — for tennis

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