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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pop — music
  3. band — a music group
  4. chip — for betting
  5. band — a ring
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. court — of a king
  10. snap — to click
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. court — for sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pop — soda
  20. court — of law
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. sharp — clever
  24. chip — to eat

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