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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mug — a cup
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tear — from crying
  12. snap — to click
  13. last — finally
  14. club — for golf
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. last — to go on
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mug — a face
  24. last — final

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