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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. file — a tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tear — from crying
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ground — a position
  8. field — farmland
  9. tear — to rip
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ground — crushed
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. ground — the earth
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. field — for sport
  24. file — a document

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