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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: clip · foot · rest · ground · scale · hand · sharp · fan

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. rest — a break
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — the earth
  11. sharp — clever
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — a position
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — a video

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