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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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 — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — soda
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. staff — a stick
  8. pop — to visit
  9. content — happy
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. staff — employees
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — the amount
  20. pop — music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. staff — employees
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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