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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — in a road
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. ground — a position
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bark — to shout
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — a phone

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