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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mark — a trace
  3. tube — the underground
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. drill — army training
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. cold — an illness
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. mark — a grade
  24. drill — a practice

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