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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. cold — an illness
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — the animal
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. band — a music group
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. sharp — clever
  15. root — of a plant
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. root — of a word
  18. band — a ring
  19. root — the cause
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. chip — to eat

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