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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. content — happy
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cap — a lid
  21. sharp — clever
  22. spell — magic
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. wound — an injury

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