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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. present — a gift
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rock — music
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pitch — completely
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. clip — a video
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. present — there
  21. clip — for paper
  22. foot — a measure
  23. present — the time now
  24. squash — the sport

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