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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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. date — on the calendar
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. row — to paddle
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spell — a short time
  12. pound — a weight
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. spell — letters
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. date — the fruit
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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