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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pit — a hole
  3. spring — the season
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — electricity
  6. spring — a coil
  7. march — music
  8. game — a match
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — in a race
  15. sharp — clever
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — the tool
  20. charge — in control
  21. spring — of water
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wax — to grow

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