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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fork — in a road
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. row — a line
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. march — music
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — a committee
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. board — to get on
  22. sharp — clever
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. row — to paddle

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