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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. last — final
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. rock — a stone
  7. sharp — clever
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. charge — in control
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. charge — electricity
  12. craft — a skill
  13. last — finally
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rock — music
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — to go on
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. charge — a price
  24. craft — boats

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