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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — clever
  3. branch — a division
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — to rip
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. shower — to wash
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wind — moving air
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wind — moving air

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