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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. content — the amount
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cell — a phone
  14. squash — the sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. content — happy
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cell — in biology
  24. squash — to crush

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