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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bear — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. plane — a tool
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — not warm
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. last — to go on
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. net — in sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. net — after costs
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. last — final
  16. game — wild animals
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — an illness
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bear — the animal
  24. net — for catching

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