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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. scale — size or range
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ground — the earth
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pop — to visit
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. mug — a cup
  12. ground — crushed
  13. shower — rain
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mug — to rob
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — a face
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pop — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ground — a position
  23. pop — soda
  24. dip — to sink

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