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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cell — a phone
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — in biology
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pass — a permit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. dip — to sink
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. deal — to handle
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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