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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. board — a committee
  4. cell — a phone
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. rule — a law
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. sharp — clever
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. scale — size or range
  17. board — to get on
  18. wake — a trail
  19. scale — in music
  20. rule — government
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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