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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. race — humankind
  5. field — for sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. sharp — clever
  8. file — a tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. swing — music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. race — the arms race
  18. branch — a division
  19. file — a document
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — a contest
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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