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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. sharp — clever
  10. last — finally
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. band — a ring
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. plane — a tool
  16. court — of law
  17. last — to go on
  18. court — for sport
  19. last — final
  20. band — a music group
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. court — of a king

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