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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 120 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. lean — thin
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kid — to tease
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. court — of law
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. sharp — clever
  19. dip — to sink
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cue — a signal
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. kid — child

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