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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.

Make a worksheet

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: straw · sharp · bay · cold · fan · racket · content · mine

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. sharp — clever
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — the amount
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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