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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. hand — help
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. sharp — clever
  24. ruler — for measuring

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