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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. track — to keep track
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — a short time
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lean — to bend
  15. fork — in a road
  16. track — a path
  17. spell — letters
  18. track — a song
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. spell — magic
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. dip — to sink
  24. sharp — clever

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