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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 124 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. roll — a list
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. hand — in cards
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bulb — for light
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hand — help
  17. roll — a cake
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mug — a face
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — in sport
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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