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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. band — a music group
  3. sharp — clever
  4. root — of a word
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. charge — electricity
  7. root — the cause
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. club — for golf
  10. charge — in control
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a ring
  13. root — of a plant
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. charge — a price
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — a group
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. club — for dancing

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