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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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. racket — for tennis
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. kid — to tease
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stem — to come from
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. kid — child
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wound — an injury

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