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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bat — the animal
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rush — hurry
  8. staff — employees
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a dance
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. staff — a stick
  17. hand — in cards
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. staff — employees
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. scale — in music
  24. hand — help

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