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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spring — of water
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. kick — in football
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. pit — a hole
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mine — belonging to me

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