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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. kid — to tease
  4. march — the month
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. kick — in football
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. lean — thin
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. snap — to click
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — the month
  20. sharp — clever
  21. kid — child
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. lean — to bend

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