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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ground — a position
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. craft — a skill
  12. kid — child
  13. sharp — clever
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — to tease
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wound — an injury
  24. craft — boats

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