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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. content — happy
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bat — the animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — the amount
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. deal — to handle
  24. sharp — with an edge

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