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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mug — to rob
  5. kid — child
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. row — a line
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mug — a face
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mug — a cup
  19. tear — from crying
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — to paddle
  24. sharp — exactly

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