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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. foot — a measure
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. row — a line
  11. key — for a lock
  12. sharp — clever
  13. key — the most important part
  14. bulb — for light
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bat — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. row — to paddle
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. key — in music

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