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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — finally
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. last — to go on
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. last — final
  19. cell — a phone
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. game — a match
  24. pitch — completely

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