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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fine — all right
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. hand — help
  5. game — wild animals
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — in cards
  10. squash — the sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — thin
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fine — high quality
  22. tear — from crying
  23. squash — to crush
  24. hand — part of the body

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