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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. kick — in football
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ball — a dance
  22. tear — from crying
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tear — to rip

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