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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. last — to go on
  5. spell — letters
  6. mate — a partner
  7. race — humankind
  8. mate — to breed
  9. board — a committee
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. sharp — clever
  13. board — to get on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mate — a friend
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. race — a contest
  21. last — finally
  22. kid — child
  23. last — final
  24. race — the arms race

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