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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. ground — a position
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. file — a tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chip — for betting
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chip — to eat
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. ground — the earth
  18. club — a group
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fall — to drop
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — crushed

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