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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. face — to point toward
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pop — to visit
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cold — an illness
  12. face — part of the head
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. vault — a safe
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ball — a dance

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