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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. charge — in control
  3. ball — a great time
  4. charge — a price
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. hand — in cards
  7. charge — electricity
  8. net — in sport
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. lean — to bend
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. net — after costs
  16. hand — help
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pitch — completely
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. net — for catching
  24. hand — part of the body

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