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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. current — electric
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. swing — in golf
  8. sharp — clever
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. scale — in music
  15. row — to paddle
  16. shower — rain
  17. current — happening now
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stem — to come from
  20. current — of water
  21. wax — to grow
  22. scale — size or range
  23. swing — music
  24. wax — in the ear

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