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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. scale — in music
  6. spell — magic
  7. scale — size or range
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spell — letters
  17. sharp — clever
  18. craft — boats
  19. cold — an illness
  20. shower — rain
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. scale — for weighing

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