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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. lie — to recline
  7. present — there
  8. bat — the animal
  9. swing — to play on
  10. present — the time now
  11. tube — a container
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. swing — in golf
  23. present — a gift
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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