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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · fan · sharp · field · dip · cold · march · cue

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cue — a signal
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. dip — to sink
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — the month
  8. net — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. cold — an illness
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cue — for pool
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — farmland
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. cue — a hint
  24. sharp — clever

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