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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. spell — magic
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. spell — letters
  7. file — a document
  8. current — of water
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. saw — the tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. sharp — clever
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. file — a tool
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — for digging
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. current — happening now
  23. saw — the tool
  24. current — electric

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