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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. kick — in football
  5. sharp — clever
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. ground — the earth
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. ground — crushed
  11. march — the month
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — music
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — a position
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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