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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. game — wild animals
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. can — a tin
  9. net — for catching
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. can — to be able to
  15. court — of a king
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of law
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pound — a weight
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. court — for 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