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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. hand — help
  6. charge — a price
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bulb — for light
  12. charge — electricity
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bulb — for light
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. charge — in control
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cap — a hat

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