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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lean — thin
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lean — to bend
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — all right
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. roll — a list
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. fine — high quality
  24. mark — a grade

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