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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. fall — to drop
  4. file — a tool
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. snap — to click
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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