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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. scale — in music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. net — for catching
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — for digging
  8. net — in sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cue — a hint
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — what's left
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. net — after costs

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