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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. tube — a container
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. deal — to handle
  18. sharp — exactly

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