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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ball — a dance
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ball — a great time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chest — a box
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. mine — for digging

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