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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. firm — decided
  4. cell — a phone
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. firm — a company
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. face — to confront
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cell — in biology
  11. face — to point toward
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. firm — steady
  17. game — a match
  18. kid — child
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — part of the head
  21. sharp — clever
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitcher — a jug

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