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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. sharp — clever
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rush — hurry
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bore — to drill
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. field — for sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. file — a document
  24. bore — to tire

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