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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. cold — not warm
  3. file — a line of people
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. file — a document
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. sharp — clever
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cold — an illness
  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