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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. present — a gift
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. sharp — clever
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bore — to drill
  12. present — there
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. shower — rain
  17. chest — a box
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lean — thin
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — the time now
  24. straw — dry grass

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