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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. net — in sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. net — for catching
  6. ground — a position
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. snap — to click
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. rest — what's left
  13. net — after costs
  14. rest — a break
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ground — the earth
  19. sharp — clever
  20. toast — bread
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ground — crushed
  24. rest — what's left

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