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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — to tease
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. game — wild animals
  10. hand — in cards
  11. file — a tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. file — a document
  18. game — a match
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. kid — child
  22. hand — help
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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