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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 124 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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. wind — moving air
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. lie — to recline
  6. fall — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. toast — bread
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. kid — child
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. scale — in music

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