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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. degree — temperature
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rash — a series
  11. degree — an amount
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chip — for betting
  20. kid — child
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chip — to eat

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