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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pop — soda
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. tube — a container
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pop — to visit
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. swing — in golf
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. pop — music
  17. swing — music
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. row — a line
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bat — the animal
  24. sharp — with an edge

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