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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — for catching
  3. rash — hasty
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. last — finally
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. net — after costs
  15. last — to go on
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — in sport
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rash — a series
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. last — final

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