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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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. file — a line of people
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a tool
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mate — to breed
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. sharp — clever

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