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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. last — final
  4. pop — to visit
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. saw — the tool
  7. last — finally
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. pop — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. last — to go on
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pop — soda
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pitcher — a jug

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