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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. dip — to sink
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kick — in football
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pit — a hole
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. ground — the earth
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — a position

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