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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. row — a line
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rest — a break
  18. sharp — clever
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mine — belonging to me

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