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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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. mine — belonging to me
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. scale — size or range
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chest — of your body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chest — a box
  16. foot — a measure
  17. craft — boats
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. tube — a container
  21. craft — a skill
  22. scale — in music
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. foot — part of the body

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