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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. track — a path
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fall — to drop
  11. foot — a measure
  12. shower — rain
  13. lean — to bend
  14. track — a song
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. track — to keep track
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. file — a document
  22. shower — to wash
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. sharp — exactly

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