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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: rush · perch · last · sharp · row · nail · chip · bat

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. last — final
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — the fish
  10. sharp — clever
  11. chip — to eat
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. chip — for betting
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bat — the animal

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