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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 120 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cell — in biology
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. tear — to rip
  8. staff — a stick
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pit — a hole
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tear — from crying
  22. saw — the tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. pitcher — a jug

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