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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — the amount
  4. sharp — clever
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — an illness
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. staff — employees
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bore — to tire
  16. staff — a stick
  17. content — happy
  18. cold — not warm
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — in football
  21. last — to go on
  22. bore — to drill
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. last — final

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