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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster 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. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. shower — to wash
  10. scale — in music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. deal — to handle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. sharp — clever
  22. season — in sport
  23. wind — moving air
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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