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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. swing — to play on
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. object — to protest
  5. staff — employees
  6. object — an aim
  7. bat — the animal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. staff — a stick
  11. sharp — clever
  12. swing — in golf
  13. clip — to cut
  14. deal — to handle
  15. swing — music
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. object — a thing
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — a video
  23. staff — employees
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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