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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pop — to visit
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spring — of water
  6. present — there
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. present — a gift
  9. last — final
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — the time now
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — to go on
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. last — finally
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rest — a break

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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