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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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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: key · fan · cue · bass · race · sharp · row · stand

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. row — to paddle
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. row — a line
  21. key — in music
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. race — humankind
  24. key — for a lock

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