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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cap — of ice
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chest — a box
  6. sharp — clever
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cue — for pool
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chest — of your body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a lid

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