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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. scale — in music
  5. object — to protest
  6. last — final
  7. object — an aim
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. scale — size or range
  12. current — of water
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. current — happening now
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. last — finally
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. object — a thing
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — to go on
  24. current — electric

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