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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. rest — a break
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spring — the season
  11. last — finally
  12. rest — what's left
  13. last — to go on
  14. spring — of water
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. last — final
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spring — a coil
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. fine — all right
  24. bowl — a dish

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