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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. firm — a company
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mate — to breed
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. firm — decided
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pound — a weight
  23. ground — a position
  24. firm — steady

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