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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stand — to bear
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — child
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. last — to go on
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — clever
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. last — final
  24. bat — for baseball

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