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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — a match
  5. pit — a hole
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pit — in a race
  10. drill — army training
  11. bass — the fish
  12. club — for golf
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. drill — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. club — a group
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bass — low music
  24. drill — a practice

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