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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. present — there
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. craft — boats
  12. branch — a division
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. present — a gift
  15. foot — a measure
  16. present — the time now
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — a skill
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fan — to cool the air

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