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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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Word bank
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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. game — a match
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. charge — a price
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. game — wild animals
  15. charge — in control
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. charge — electricity
  19. content — the amount
  20. rush — hurry
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a kind of play

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