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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fall — the season
  7. craft — a skill
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fall — to drop
  10. craft — boats
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pass — a permit
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. fall — to drop
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. sharp — clever
  24. ball — a dance

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