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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. mug — a face
  4. fine — all right
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — a weight
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mug — to rob

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