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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cell — a phone
  3. content — happy
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. suit — clothes
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. sharp — clever
  10. suit — in cards
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — help
  16. ball — a dance
  17. field — for sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ball — a great time
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cell — in biology
  24. field — farmland

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