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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. foot — a measure
  5. spell — a short time
  6. last — finally
  7. current — happening now
  8. last — final
  9. ball — a dance
  10. sharp — clever
  11. current — electric
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. spell — letters
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. current — of water
  18. spell — magic
  19. cold — an illness
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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