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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. chest — a box
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rest — a break
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fall — the season
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pitch — completely
  21. rest — what's left
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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