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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wake — a trail
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — child
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. sharp — clever
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. spring — of water
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. game — a match
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stock — goods

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