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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. dip — to sink
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cell — a phone
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cell — in biology
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pop — soda
  18. mine — for digging
  19. scale — in music
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pop — music
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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