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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. swing — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kid — child
  23. fine — all right
  24. bark — to shout

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