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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bulb — for light
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. board — to get on
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pit — a hole
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pit — in a race
  18. game — a match
  19. board — a committee
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — a line

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