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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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 — exactly
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mate — a friend
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. file — a line of people
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chair — a leader
  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