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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. club — for golf
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — the season
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. drill — army training
  9. club — a group
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. cold — an illness
  20. club — for dancing
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bat — the animal

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