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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fork — in a road
  10. kid — child
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fall — the season
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. lean — to bend
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lean — thin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. ground — a position
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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