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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rash — hasty
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. sharp — clever
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — a phone
  7. net — after costs
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. net — for catching
  11. row — a line
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. row — to paddle
  14. current — of water
  15. net — in sport
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. current — happening now
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rash — a series
  22. current — electric
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. temple — side of the head

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