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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. game — a match
  3. content — happy
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wake — a trail
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. sharp — clever
  9. charge — a price
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ground — a position
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. ground — the earth
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. charge — in control
  22. game — wild animals
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. charge — electricity

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