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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cold — not warm
  19. key — for a lock
  20. branch — a division
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. bear — the animal

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