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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. hand — in cards
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — a signal
  12. hand — help
  13. bass — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. march — music
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cue — for pool
  24. kid — child

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