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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fine — all right
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. fine — high quality
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. bark — to shout
  12. file — a document
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. file — a line of people
  15. hand — help
  16. pit — a hole
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pit — in a race

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