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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kid — child
  11. track — a song
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. kid — to tease
  18. sharp — clever
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wound — an injury
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. track — a path
  24. wound — an injury

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