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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. game — wild animals
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. game — a match
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — clever
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — the arms race
  13. row — a line
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. object — to protest
  16. race — a contest
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. object — a thing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. object — an aim
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spell — letters
  24. row — to paddle

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