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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. cold — not warm
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chip — to eat
  12. dip — to sink
  13. swing — to play on
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. chip — for betting
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cell — a phone
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. cold — an illness

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