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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rush — hurry
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — music
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — a short time
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spell — magic
  20. kid — child
  21. file — a document
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. file — a tool

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