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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cold — an illness
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. fine — all right
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. lie — to recline
  22. kid — child
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. fine — high quality

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