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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. spring — the season
  3. kid — child
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chip — for betting
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chip — to eat
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — a path
  15. spring — a coil
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. sharp — clever
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. track — a song
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kick — in football
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. track — to keep track
  24. pitch — completely

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