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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 120 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: fan · bat · sharp · bound · racket · game · face · ground

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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. sharp — clever
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. game — wild animals
  8. face — to confront
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bound — tied together
  12. face — to point toward
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — part of the head
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bound — certain
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ground — crushed
  23. game — a match
  24. racket — a loud noise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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