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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chip — to eat
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. object — an aim
  11. chip — for betting
  12. last — final
  13. dip — to sink
  14. last — finally
  15. row — a line
  16. object — a thing
  17. net — after costs
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. object — to protest
  24. roll — a list

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