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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bore — to tire
  8. band — a ring
  9. board — a committee
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wake — a trail
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. band — a music group
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bore — to drill
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — an injury
  23. board — to get on
  24. bore — gave birth

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