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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: shower · march · dip · object · cold · mug · fan · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. sharp — clever
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. march — the month
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cold — an illness
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. object — to protest
  15. march — the month
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mug — a face
  18. object — an aim
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mug — to rob
  22. shower — rain
  23. march — music
  24. object — a thing

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