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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cell — a phone
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. key — the most important part
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. kid — child
  19. row — a line
  20. cell — in biology
  21. key — for a lock
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. key — in music
  24. row — to paddle

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