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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wax — to grow
  6. squash — to crush
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. chip — to eat
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. row — a line
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. sharp — clever
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chip — in a computer

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