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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — to breed
  11. sharp — clever
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — a series
  14. cue — a signal
  15. stock — shares
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mate — a friend
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rash — hasty
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. cue — for pool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mate — a partner

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