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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — to keep track
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — a practice
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. track — a path
  10. clip — a video
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. sharp — clever
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. track — a song
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. drill — army training
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rule — a law

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