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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. foot — a measure
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. net — after costs
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cold — not warm
  16. net — in sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. cue — for pool
  19. net — for catching
  20. cell — a phone
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. fork — in a road
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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