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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. file — a tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bound — tied together
  11. file — a line of people
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bound — obliged
  14. file — a document
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bound — certain
  21. ball — a dance
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. ball — a great time
  24. squash — the sport

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