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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rest — a break
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pit — in a race
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — magic

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