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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. court — of a king
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. drill — a practice
  9. sharp — clever
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — army training
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. court — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bulb — for light
  16. face — to point toward
  17. court — of law
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. drill — the tool

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