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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. band — a ring
  4. staff — employees
  5. pop — soda
  6. mug — to rob
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mug — a face
  10. staff — employees
  11. pop — to visit
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. staff — a stick
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. pop — music
  21. band — a music group
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. mug — a cup
  24. field — a subject

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