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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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 — clever
  2. face — to confront
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. club — for golf
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. face — part of the head
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. club — for dancing
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cell — a phone
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spring — of water
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. club — a group
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. kick — in football

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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