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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. file — a tool
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. ground — crushed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chest — a box
  9. shower — rain
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a document
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. file — a line of people
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. ground — a position
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. ground — the earth

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