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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. ground — a position
  4. sharp — clever
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. cell — in biology
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — crushed
  19. perch — the fish
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pass — a permit
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pass — to succeed

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