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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. rash — hasty
  4. squash — to crush
  5. snap — to click
  6. rash — a series
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. squash — the sport
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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