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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stock — goods
  4. cue — for pool
  5. stock — shares
  6. bulb — for light
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — to bend
  11. game — wild animals
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. cue — a signal
  15. game — a match
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bulb — for light
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lean — thin

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