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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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 — with an edge
  2. fork — in a road
  3. sharp — clever
  4. cue — a hint
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chest — a box
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cue — for pool
  15. row — a line
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  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