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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rest — a break
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. pass — a permit
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. root — the cause
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. root — of a word
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rest — what's left

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