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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. staff — employees
  4. perch — the fish
  5. current — of water
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — all right
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. current — happening now
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. current — electric
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rush — hurry
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wind — moving air
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fine — high quality

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