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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. court — for sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fall — the season
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. wound — an injury
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — moving air
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — of law
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. tube — a container
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. court — of a king
  23. wind — moving air
  24. temple — a place of worship

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