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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. game — a match
  3. rest — what's left
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tear — from crying
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. board — to get on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. tear — from crying
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. race — humankind
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tear — to rip
  22. race — a contest
  23. game — wild animals
  24. board — a committee

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