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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. squash — the sport
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rash — a series
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. cell — in biology
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — hasty
  19. cap — a hat
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. net — for catching
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cell — in a prison

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