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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: pit · sharp · temple · deal · wind · bass · drill · hand

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. pit — a hole
  6. hand — help
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. pit — in a race
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — the tool
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. drill — army training
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wind — moving air
  19. deal — to handle
  20. bass — the fish
  21. drill — a practice
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wind — to turn a key

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