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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. drill — army training
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. game — a match
  14. face — to confront
  15. cold — not warm
  16. object — to protest
  17. drill — the tool
  18. object — a thing
  19. sharp — clever
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. object — an aim
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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