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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mate — to breed
  4. object — a thing
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mate — a friend
  10. object — an aim
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — what's left
  14. squash — the sport
  15. object — to protest
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rest — a break
  19. sharp — clever
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fall — the season
  22. hand — help
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. hand — part of the body

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