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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. last — final
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. last — to go on
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. last — finally
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bass — the fish
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — a phone
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bass — low music
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. trunk — of a car

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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