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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mate — to breed
  4. sharp — clever
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. clip — a video
  7. chest — a box
  8. field — for sport
  9. deal — to handle
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a friend
  17. field — farmland
  18. clip — to cut

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