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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. lean — thin
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. band — a music group
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ground — crushed
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. ball — a great time
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. lean — to bend
  16. band — a ring
  17. ground — the earth
  18. row — to paddle
  19. ground — a position
  20. row — a line
  21. kick — in football
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. 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