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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fine — all right
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stock — shares
  7. file — a tool
  8. stock — goods
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. file — a document
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fall — the season
  19. content — the amount
  20. pitch — completely
  21. content — happy
  22. rest — a break
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. file — a line of people

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