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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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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: sharp · row · race · bound · wake · squash · fan · fall

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bound — tied together
  4. fall — the season
  5. bound — certain
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. race — a contest
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. row — a line
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. squash — to crush
  24. sharp — exactly

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