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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. club — for dancing
  3. game — a match
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. staff — employees
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ground — the earth
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. club — a group
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. sharp — clever
  12. staff — employees
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. file — a tool
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — a position
  21. club — for golf
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. ground — crushed

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