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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: ruler · sharp · stick · nail · cold · game · ball · wind

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a dance
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cold — an illness
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. sharp — clever
  19. ball — a great time
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. game — a kind of play

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