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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — letters
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. file — a tool
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wound — an injury
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kick — in football
  20. file — a document
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. season — of the year
  23. spell — magic
  24. lie — an untruth

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