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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 124 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. rest — a break
  3. spell — letters
  4. stem — to come from
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spell — magic
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the fish
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a great time
  22. sharp — clever
  23. net — after costs
  24. rest — what's left

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