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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. swing — music
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lean — to bend
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. content — happy
  9. craft — boats
  10. swing — in golf
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. file — a line of people
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lean — thin
  20. file — a document
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. swing — to play on
  23. content — the amount
  24. sharp — with an edge

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