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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lean — to bend
  8. fine — all right
  9. spell — magic
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — for paper
  20. spell — letters
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. dip — a sauce

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