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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 120 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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. ball — a great time
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. bear — the animal
  8. sharp — clever
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pop — soda
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bear — the animal
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bear — to put up with

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