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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chip — to eat
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — for sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. court — of a king
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — for paper
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. lean — thin
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chip — for betting
  22. court — of law
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. clip — a video

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