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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. file — a tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — music
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. cue — for pool
  10. last — final
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cue — a signal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. pop — soda
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. last — finally
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. file — a document
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hide — animal skin

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