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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. row — a line
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pop — soda
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pop — to visit
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pop — music
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. row — to paddle
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pass — to spend time

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