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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 knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fine — all right
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. perch — the fish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. key — in music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rash — a series
  12. key — the most important part
  13. foot — a measure
  14. key — for a lock
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rule — a law
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. rule — government
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. rash — on the skin

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