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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mate — a friend
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. rest — what's left
  7. mate — a partner
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chair — a leader
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mate — to breed
  20. sharp — clever
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — a list
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — a match

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