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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · tube · fork · wave · bay · rule · sharp · ball

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. ball — a great time
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rule — government
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. tube — a container
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bat — the animal
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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