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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. shower — to wash
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — not warm
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. perch — the fish
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cold — an illness
  17. shower — rain
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. perch — for a bird

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