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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pit — a hole
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stand — to bear
  7. net — after costs
  8. snap — to click
  9. track — a path
  10. pit — in a race
  11. net — in sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. track — a song
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — for catching
  18. game — a match
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wound — an injury

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