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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. club — for golf
  5. chest — a box
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — a group
  13. hand — help
  14. rest — a break
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bore — to drill
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bore — to tire
  21. chest — of your body
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — part of the body

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