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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pop — soda
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. sharp — clever
  15. hand — help
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pop — to visit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. swing — music
  21. drill — army training
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pop — music
  24. temple — a place of worship

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