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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pop — soda
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pop — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. pop — to visit
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hand — help
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wave — with your hand

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