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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wind — moving air
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. present — there
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wound — an injury
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. present — a gift
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. swing — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. present — the time now
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wound — an injury

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