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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pit — in a race
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pit — a hole
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. field — farmland
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. dip — a sauce

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