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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a committee
  9. hand — in cards
  10. key — for a lock
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. sharp — clever
  14. key — in music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. ground — the earth
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. hand — help
  22. key — the most important part
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mouse — the animal

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