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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. tube — a container
  4. tear — from crying
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tear — to rip
  10. content — happy
  11. branch — a division
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — the amount
  14. shower — rain
  15. cue — a hint
  16. tear — from crying
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cue — a signal
  21. sharp — clever
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. content — videos and posts

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