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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a music group
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. key — the most important part
  11. band — a ring
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. key — in music
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. key — for a lock
  24. cold — an illness

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