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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pit — a hole
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. spell — letters
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. file — a line of people
  13. sharp — clever
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. pit — in a race

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