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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rash — a series
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. file — a document
  9. pop — music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rash — hasty
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — a line
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. last — final
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. row — to paddle
  22. last — finally
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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