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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lean — to bend
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. press — to push
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wake — a trail
  11. shower — rain
  12. lean — thin
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. press — a publisher
  16. clip — for paper
  17. press — newspapers
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. clip — a video
  20. kid — child
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. ball — a dance
  24. sharp — clever

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