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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — in sport
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spring — of water
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. track — a path
  9. net — after costs
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — the season
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. ground — the earth
  18. shower — to wash
  19. net — for catching
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — to keep track
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. track — a song

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