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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pop — music
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. object — to protest
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. wind — moving air
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. object — an aim
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pop — soda
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pop — to visit
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — the animal
  24. object — a thing

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