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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chest — a box
  14. cell — in biology
  15. sharp — clever
  16. dip — to sink
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. key — the most important part
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. key — in music
  23. chest — of your body
  24. dip — to dunk

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