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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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. cue — a hint
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. lean — thin
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cue — a signal
  10. spring — the season
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cue — for pool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. lean — to bend
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spring — of water
  21. sharp — clever
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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