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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. game — a match
  4. sharp — clever
  5. clip — to cut
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. object — a thing
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. clip — a video
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. clip — for paper

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