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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 120 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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chest — a box
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. mine — for digging
  18. rash — hasty

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