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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pop — music
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cell — in biology
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bat — the animal
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pop — soda
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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