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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 116 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. snap — to click
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. staff — employees
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. sharp — clever
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bat — the animal
  24. staff — employees

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