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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. game — a match
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cap — a lid
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cap — a hat
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mark — a grade
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rock — music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. sharp — clever
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. rock — a stone
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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