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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 not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bass — the fish
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. charge — electricity
  9. fine — all right
  10. charge — a price
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rash — a series
  15. stock — goods
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. charge — in control
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. stock — shares
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bass — low music
  24. sharp — exactly

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