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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — from crying
  3. scale — size or range
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. staff — employees
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. staff — a stick
  8. roll — a list
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. kid — to tease
  12. roll — a cake
  13. saw — the tool
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. scale — in music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — child

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