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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. object — an aim
  6. chest — a box
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a ring
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. can — a tin
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. rash — hasty
  15. clip — for paper
  16. object — a thing
  17. shower — to wash
  18. can — a tin
  19. object — to protest
  20. can — to be able to
  21. rash — a series
  22. shower — rain
  23. chest — of your body
  24. band — a music group

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