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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: straw · wound · bowl · rash · jam · sharp · last · game

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. rash — hasty
  9. last — finally
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a match
  13. last — final
  14. rash — a series
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — wild animals

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