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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. rest — what's left
  4. firm — steady
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kick — in football
  7. rest — a break
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. firm — a company
  12. lean — to bend
  13. firm — decided
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pit — in a race
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pit — a hole
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lean — thin
  24. kick — with a leg

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