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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tube — a container
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. net — in sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — for catching
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. net — after costs
  11. cap — of ice
  12. sharp — clever
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pitch — completely
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bore — to drill

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