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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. foot — a measure
  5. sharp — clever
  6. dip — to sink
  7. clip — to cut
  8. firm — a company
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. firm — steady
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. craft — boats
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. clip — for paper
  18. firm — decided
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. saw — the tool
  22. craft — a skill
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — a video

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