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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pop — soda
  3. cell — in biology
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — clever
  13. kick — in football
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. pop — to visit
  17. spell — magic
  18. scale — in music
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pop — music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. spell — a short time
  24. scale — size or range

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