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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. content — happy
  6. squash — to crush
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. sharp — clever
  9. craft — boats
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — to come from
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. content — the amount
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. kick — in football

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