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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fall — the season
  7. dip — to sink
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — to drop
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. fall — to drop
  21. foot — a measure
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — a grade

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